PlayStation Vita may launch in US and UK territories this fall

Third-party press release may have leaked a global launch for Sony’s new handheld

Sony%26rsquo;s Kaz Hirai announced that the PlayStation Vita will launch during the holiday season this year at the company%26rsquo;s E3 2011 press conference. However, Hirai didn%26rsquo;t specify a global launch, leading many to assume that Japan would see Sony%26rsquo;s new handheld first. That%26rsquo;s what happened with the PSP, which saw a December 12, 2004 launch in Japan before arriving in North America in March the following year.

But it looks like third-party publisher 505 Games may have leaked Sony%26rsquo;s plans for a global launch for the Vita via a press release sent to US and UK media outlets hailing a fall 2011 launch for Supremacy MMA on the PS Vita. According to the release, Supremacy MMA %26ldquo;will break bones and smash faces on Sony%26rsquo;s next-gen portable platform, the PlayStation Vita this fall. Supremacy MMA for PS Vita will come packing exclusive content including new fighters, venues and features found only on the PS Vita, delivering all the brutality and fast arcade action of the most controversial MMA game in history on the hottest handheld of this generation.%26rdquo;

%26ldquo;Supremacy MMA takes MMA where it%26rsquo;s never gone before, with unprecedented brutality and arcade speed, and now it%26rsquo;s headed for another new frontier as the sole MMA game to go to handheld in 2011,%26rdquo; added 505 Games North America president Ian Howe in the release.

Speaking to GameSpot, a representative for 505 Games said, %26ldquo;All of the information that we currently have available is in the press release,%26rdquo; suggesting that Sony does indeed have plans for a global launch or at the very least, a launch in multiple territories. However, a more recent response from 505 Games to MCV calls the global launch into question, which states that the PS Vita fall launch date highlighted in the US and UK press release is %26ldquo;only speculative.%26rdquo;

Either way, a successful launch for the PS Vita will be vital for Sony. The Japan earthquake, cyber-attacks against the PlayStation Network, and sluggish PlayStation 3 sales have not been kind to Sony%26rsquo;s bottom line, resulting in a 25% reduction in profit projections in the company%26rsquo;sQ1 2011 financial report.

But it looks like third-party publisher 505 Games may have leaked Sony%26rsquo;s plans for a global launch for the Vita via a press release sent to US and UK media outlets hailing a fall 2011 launch for Supremacy MMA on the PS Vita. According to the release, Supremacy MMA %26ldquo;will break bones and smash faces on Sony%26rsquo;s next-gen portable platform, the PlayStation Vita this fall. Supremacy MMA for PS Vita will come packing exclusive content including new fighters, venues and features found only on the PS Vita, delivering all the brutality and fast arcade action of the most controversial MMA game in history on the hottest handheld of this generation.%26rdquo;

%26ldquo;Supremacy MMA takes MMA where it%26rsquo;s never gone before, with unprecedented brutality and arcade speed, and now it%26rsquo;s headed for another new frontier as the sole MMA game to go to handheld in 2011,%26rdquo; added 505 Games North America president Ian Howe in the release.

Speaking to GameSpot, a representative for 505 Games said, %26ldquo;All of the information that we currently have available is in the press release,%26rdquo; suggesting that Sony does indeed have plans for a global launch or at the very least, a launch in multiple territories. However, a more recent response from 505 Games to MCV calls the global launch into question, which states that the PS Vita fall launch date highlighted in the US and UK press release is %26ldquo;only speculative.%26rdquo;

Either way, a successful launch for the PS Vita will be vital for Sony. The Japan earthquake, cyber-attacks against the PlayStation Network, and sluggish PlayStation 3 sales have not been kind to Sony%26rsquo;s bottom line, resulting in a 25% reduction in profit projections in the company%26rsquo;sQ1 2011 financial report.